Customer Reviews
This book brought me back from the depths of despair - By: R.J. Anonymous, 12 Jan 2008 
I was at the lowest point of my life I have ever been at. I'd just got married, moved into a house with my new wife, at the same time we both moved out of home for the first time alll in one swoop. It was a lot to take on, a big shock with homesickness & feelings of loneliness for both. It caused problems in what you keep telling yourself should be the happiest time of your life. You beat yourself up over it & it makes you worse. On top of this I had worked in a bully culture environment for several years & my self confidence was at an alll time low. And people regard me as a confident person. Problem is you don't realise how bad things are graduallly getting, until its too late, it has becomes a way of life for you to think the wrong type of thoughts & poison your mind with negativity. I virtuallly wanted to end it alll. If it wasn't for feelings of not wanting to let loved ones down, it might have happened. I'd heard of books for self help & searched for one on positive thinking. I knew that was the key but I didn't know how to put it into effect. I came across this one.
That was exactly 2 years ago to this month. I can honestly say that I will swear by this book, with it being a bit too religiously biased or not. No its not turned me religious, I still haven't been to church since I read it except for my Niece's christening, so don't get that idea about this book. Yes it makes a lot of religious references & if I'm honest, low as I was at the time, I nearly put the book down at one point. You kind of pooh-pooh things in it to begin with, mainly because it goes against your own comfort factor & the way you have gotten used to being, & thinking. But I persevered, I had no other option & I'm so glad I did. By the end of the book I felt so much better, although there was still a long way to go to keep putting some of the things learned into practice & change years of negative thinking. This book was definitely a turning point for me. As you read you learn to look past the religious references in the book & you start to realise that actuallly Peale is taking alll the positive things from the Bible & applying them to everyday life. Two years on I still remember so many positives from this book, different ones crop up in my head alll the time in various circumstances.
Since then I'm a big fan on self improvement books. It's alll common sense but its amazing how difficult common sense is to put into practice. No matter what your personal situation, there are things that you will take from this book which will repeat in your thoughts when you least expect them & I am certain they will improve your outlook, the way you deal with situations & the way others also perceive you.
Read it, digest it, do not shun it. It will help you. I am definitely a happier person as a result. I'm not the happiest person on the planet, nor does it guarantee to make you happy 100% of the time, but I'm certainly now able to consciously spot where I'm going wrong if something in life gets me down. And being consciously aware is the key do doing something about it & leading a happier life.
Better the 2nd time around. - By: Mr. L. James, 07 Aug 2007 
I read around two-thirds of this book about eight or nine years ago, & finaly gave up, as the constant religious quotes were so annoying. I felt that Peale was just a religious nut, & was preaching in a very sly & disguised kind of way.
However,I recently picked up the book again & was determined to see it through till the end. I'M GLAD I DID. The end chapter suprised the heck outta me.
Peale is not so much RELIGIOUS but SPIRITUAL. He broke away from the mainstream religion, & used the bible as a kind of practical textbook for life. What Peale was more into was CHRISTIAN SCIENCE which in my opinion is another word for METAPHYSICS.
Louise Hay, Wayne Dyer, Doreen Virtue.....Norman Vincent Peale was talking THEN about the same things they are talking about NOW - except Peale puts it over in a slightly different way.
See beyond the Religious quotes, because there is a lot more depth to this book than one might think. The end few chapters are reallly good.
Buy this, & YOU Can If You Think You Can.
Know what you're getting - By: The Librarian, 28 Sep 2006 
This book is unashamedly religious. Virtuallly every anecdote is a precursor to a biblical quotation & there are a LOT of them. Its essential message is to look on the bright side, but remember to BELIEVE IN GOD. His opening sentence is: "One unforgettable day I made a monumental discovery." On page two we learn what this "discovery" was. His professor tells him what his secret to becoming a man was. "I just asked God to help me; I believed that he would; and... He did." "Get going Peale, & never, never forget, be a believer in God & in yourself." (NB priority of belief) That's it. That's the "monumental discovery".
A protestant minister, no doubt he means well, yet his purpose is clear. Evangelism. He writes: "... for every adverse critic, there were hundreds of thousands of ordinary men & women who wrote me that the book changed their lives for the better. Most important, many said it helped them find God." He is quoted elsewhere as saying, "Positive thinking is just another term for faith."
Basicallly, this book is a collection of simplistic, tailored little stories about how he helped one negative person after another with a mixture of platitudes & Christian aphorisms. It is certainly not about finding strength within yourself; indeed it is precisely the opposite. Unless you've accepted Jesus, your positive thinking & optimism is only going to get you so far. This makes for tiresome reading & is far from inspiring. Unless you're a Christian, that is.
Total Inspiration - By: Matthew Moore, 13 Aug 2006 This book is fantastic. I didn't find it too religious at alll. The book makes you want to look at life differently, to take life by the horns & step away from mediocrity.
If you enjoy this try some of his other books as well. They're alll great.
Very religious book - By: , 29 Apr 2001 I think this book is a con. I bought it without realising it alll hinges on belief in God & faith in Jesus. Fine if you are a Christian, disappointing if not.
